Singletons' Problems
by JailyForever
Summary: Turns out, James doesn't do being single very well. [1] James has a cat problem. [2] James attends Frank and Alice's wedding alone. [3] James is the only single person at a dinner party when there is an unexpected announcement.
1. Clowder

**Singletons' Problems:** When you are in danger of owning too many cats.

 **2017 Resolutions:** Write a minimum of 300 drabbles this year; Write at least one drabble/one-shot for all the characters listed in 'Harry Potter Characters' on

 **365 words:** Princess

 **Writing Club:** Genre - Humour

 **Word Count:** 771

* * *

Clowder

James stoked the ginger cat in his arms gently as he manoevered her into the carry case.

"You are going to have so much fun at home with your new friends," he cooed, closely the cage as she let out a heartbreaking meow. "Don't worry, sweet, when we're home you can come out."

"Mr Potter," the sales lady said, breaking James' enchantment with his new pet. "Here's a card. If you have any questions about taking care of your new cat, don't hesitate to give us a call."

James nodded his head, picking up one of the toys on display at the counter.

"I think I'll take this too," James told her. "My little princess here needs to have a toy to play with when I'm out at work, don't you?"

James poked his finger through the cage door and his cat nibbled on the end of his finger affectionately.

"If that's everything, that will be £105.99," she told him.

James laughed lightly, removing his finger from the cage and reaching into his jacket pocket for his wallet.

"Do you accept visa debit cards, Wilhelmina?" he asked, checking her name tag and holding up his card.

"Yes, Sir, we accept all major credit and debit cards," she replied, picking up the card machine and passing it to James.

James eagerly placed his card into the machine and input his number, smiling as it was accepted.

"Well, Mr Potter," she said as he took out his card, "you're all set to go."

"Thank you," James replied, picking up the cage and walking out of the pet store, eager to introduce his new kitten to the rest of his cats. He just knew his little ginger nut was going to fit in perfectly.

~o~o~o~

"Well, little one, this is home," James said, setting the cage down on the coffee table and opening it. He smiled to himself as Bulbasaur, his first cat, nuzzled up against his leg.

He reached into the cage and scooped up his new kitten, the baby of his ever expanding family.

"Do you want to meet you new friends, little one?" James cooed, stroking her underneath the chin as she purred in agreement.

"Okay so over here, we have Eevee, Ditto, Charmander, Lapras, Arcanine, Vulpix, and Celebi," James said, pointing to the seven cats who were lounging around on the window sill. "And, over there we have, Gengar, Mewtwo, Jigglypuff, Sylveon, Abra, Alakazam, and Rockruff."

The cat by his legs continued to rub against his legs."Oh and this little guy is Bulbasaur."

James moved back to the couch and sat down, wondering where his other cats were. He sighed figuring the lazy kitties were sleeping on his bed as a few of his cats pranced over to him for attention.

"What should we call you then?" he asked the kitten who was curling up on his lap. "You look like a Pikachu. Is that your name? Pikachu?"

The kitten purred on his lap and James too that as a yes.

"Welcome to your new home, Pikachu," James said as the front door to his apartment opened.

"What the devil?" the voice of his roommate, Sirius, exclaimed loudly. "James, why is there a clowder of cats in our apartment?"

"I bought them," James answered. "And aren't they adorable? I have Bulbasaur, Eevee, Charmander—"

"James, I don't want to know the names of your cats," Sirius snapped. "You have a problem. When I left two weeks ago, you had two cats, and now you have a clowder. You don't see anything wrong with that?"

"No," James said, showering his cats with attention and appreciating the love and affection he got in return. "They love and need me, and I need them. There's nothing wrong with that."

Sirius sighed and ran his hand through his hair, realising what the problem was.

"It's because you're single, isn't it?" Sirius asked. "You've been on a slippery slope ever since Lily broke up with you, and now you're trying to replace human affection with cats. Well it's not going to work."

"Of course it's not because I'm single. That's not what I'm doing. I love and need these cats and if you don't like it, you can move out," James snapped, scooping Pikachu into his arms and storming off to his bedroom, closely followed by his clowder.

He carefully sat down on his bed and greeted the rest of his cats, and lay down.

"Don't listen to the mean man," James cooed as they nuzzled up against him. "You are my cats and I love you. And I most certainly do not have a problem."


	2. Going Stag

**Singletons' Problems:** When you have to attend a wedding or work function alone where everyone else will be bringing a date/significant other.

 **2017 Resolutions:** Write a minimum of 300 drabbles this year; Write at least one drabble/one-shot for all the characters listed in 'Harry Potter Characters'

 **365 Words:** Radiant

 **Writing Club:** World Marriage Day - Write about someone getting married, or attending a wedding.

 **Word Count:** 820

* * *

Going Stag

 _You are cordially invited to celebrate the union of:_

 _Frank Longbottom_

 _and_

 _Alice Selwyn_

 _ **Date:**_ _Saturday, 25th October_

 _ **Time:**_ _12pm_

 _Sit down dinner and wedding reception to follow._

 _Please R.S.V.P. as soon as possible stating whether you will be bringing a plus one._

James twirled the invite in his hands. Six weeks had passed since Frank and Alice had sent him the invite to their wedding, and over the course of those six weeks he had lost track of how many girls had rejected him. The one which had stung the most was the rejection from Lily Evans who had taken great pleasure in informing him she was taking Severus Snape as her plus one.

It was now two weeks until the wedding day, and James was getting daily phone calls from Alice pestering him about informing her about his plus one. Only yesterday she had threatened to put him down as attending alone if didn't find a date. The shrill tone in her voice still sent shivers down his spine. If he wasn't so afraid of her, he would have happily informed her that she was turning into bridezilla.

James sighed as he tossed the invitation onto the table. Perhaps he should just face the inevitable fact that he would be going stag to the wedding. After all, there was always the chance of him picking up one of the hot bridesmaids—surely at least one of them would be attractive and single.

Nodding to himself, James stood up from the couch and walked over to the phone ready to inform Alice that he would not be bringing a plus one with him to her big day.

 _Bring on the single ladies!_

~o~o~o~

As James entered the church, the first thing he noticed was that there were a lot of happy couples already seated in the pews.

 _No matter, the action is where the bridesmaids are,_ he thought to himself as he reached the altar to take his place by Frank's side.

"Hey, Frank," James said, nudging the groom. "Any tips on which bridesmaids might be open to spending the evening with yours truly?"

"No," Frank answered, "all of Alice's bridesmaids are in long term relationships. In fact, I think you're the only dateless person here."

"What?" James exclaimed, trying to keep his voice down. "You mean even Pettigrew found someone to come with him?"

"Yeah, didn't you know he was dating Emmeline?" Frank asked.

"Emmeline? As in Emmeline Vance?" James asked, failing to keep the astonishment out of his voice.

"The one and only," Frank replied as the wedding march started to play. "Now zip it. I want to give my girl my undivided attention."

James nodded his head and followed Frank's line of sight. His eyes were completely fixated on the radiant woman in white, Alice, as she followed her bridesmaids down the aisle. The love and adoration that James saw in her eyes made him long for someone to look at him like that rather than reject him without even giving him a chance.

~o~o~o~

James slumped down in chair, glaring at the happy couples on the dance floor. Part of him knew it was irrational but, in his mind, he every right to be. He was the only single person at the wedding and there was no chance of getting it on with one of the bridesmaids like he had hoped.

His eyes narrowed as they fell on the love of his life, Lily, dancing with Snape. Why had she gone for him of all people?

"Why so glum, chum?" Sirius asked, sitting down next to him with a goofy smile on his face.

"Seriously? Look around," James said, picking his glass of champagne up off the table and draining it. "Everyone is paired off in a couple—even Peter. And then there's me sitting here all alone like a lemon."

"And a very handsome lemon you are," Sirius commented with a laugh. "You know mine and Remus' offer still stands?"

"Sorry, I don't swing that way, and even if I did I doubt there's room for one more in your relationship," James replied.

"True, Remus is very selfish in the bedroom," Sirius laughed.

"Really? I always assumed you were the selfish one," James said as Remus approached and set down three glasses on the table.

"He is," Remus said, sitting down next to Sirius and kissing him chastely on the lips.

Sirius, not content with the chasteness, pulled Remus back to him for a longer and more intimate kiss.

"And that's my cue to leave," James said, picking up his glass and walking away.

James walked outside with his glass of champagne and pulled a packet of cigarettes from the inside of jacket. He opened it, pulled one out and lit it, inhaling deeply as he wondered if he would have a big day like Frank and Alice or if he was destined to be alone.


	3. Dinner Party

**Singletons' Problems:** When you are the only single person at a dinner party

 **2017 Resolutions:** Write a minimum of 300 drabbles this year; Write at least one drabble in every genre listed on the site; Write at least one drabble/one-shot for all the characters listed in 'Harry Potter Characters

 **Writing Club:** Genre - Friendship

 **365 Words:** Gathering

 **Word Count:** 513

* * *

Dinner Party

James sipped his wine as the laughter of his friends rang in his ears. He hadn't been following Molly and Arthur's story, but the bits he had caught involved her eldest son, William, doing something 'funny'. It wasn't that he wasn't interested in the lives of his friends and their respective families; it was more that he was surrounded by people whose lives were moving forward whilst he was stuck in a rut. Single. Not for the first time that evening, he wondered why he had been invited to this gathering.

"James," a voice said, drawing him out of his thoughts.

"Yes, I'll have some more wine," he answered, answering the only possible question he could think of that one of his dinner companions would ask him.

"That wasn't the question," Mary laughed, turning her attention to her fiancé. "Dedalus, dear, get James some more wine," She turned back and refocused her attention of James. "What's wrong, James? You seem a little out of sorts"

"Nothing," James replied, deciding to survey the dinner table and avoid all eye contact with Mary.

Across from him sat Remus and Sirius, happily married and looking to adopt a little boy or girl; next to them sat Molly and Arthur Weasley who already had two sons and a third child on the way and, from little snippets of the conversations he had caught over the night, he figured that Molly was hoping for a girl. And finally, there was Peter sat next to him holding hands under the table with his girlfriend, Emmeline Vance, and constantly leaning over to kiss her.

"James, I have known you for the better part of a decade and I know when you're lying," Mary said, nudging him in the ribs. "So, I'll ask again, what's wrong?"

A chair scraped backwards against the floor, and James silently thanked whatever deity was watching over him for that timely intervention.

"Everyone, I know we're here to celebrate Mary and Dedalus' engagement, but Emme and I have a little announcement of our own," Peter said, standing up and silencing the quiet chatter around the table.

Mary straightened herself up and made her way back towards her seat, but not before giving him a look that clearly told him that this conversation was far from over.

"Darling, I thought we agreed that we weren't going to tell anyone yet," Emmeline whispered, tugging on Peter's hand in an attempt to drag him back down into his seat.

"I can't help it," Peter said, pulling his hand out of her grasp. "I'm too excited."

"Peter, no—"

"We're having a baby," Peter blurted out.

James pushed his chair back and walked out the room as the congratulations started to pour in for them, unsurprised that no one seemed to notice him leaving. They were all too wrapped up in Peter and Emmeline's news.

This recent development only solidified James' belief that he was stuck in a rut, destined to be single for the rest of his days whilst the rest of his friends got married and had children.


End file.
